All doorways in the front part of the house lead to the front hallway, a J-shaped area with the short tail starting at the stairs, the front door hitting the bottom curve, the doorless opening to the living room halfway up the long side, and the also doorless opening to the kitchen and dining room at the very top. The hall has a simple wooden floor, and decorated with a generic print of soft-colored flowers hanging on the wall to the right of the front door, and a tall table sitting under the print which serves as a place to toss keys. A closet under the stairs serves as a place to hang coats or to toss shoes.
The doorless opening to the living room is halfway up the side of the hall's J, and the word cozy might spring to mind when looking into is, as it seems to radiate comforting vibrations. A long couch sits against the south wall beneath a large bay window curtained only by sheers that manages to obscure the view in but only filters the day's light. A variety of out-of-date magazines are strewn atop a low coffee table; more neatly presented are the plethora of books filling the small bookshelves which line the eastern wall. Three chairs sit about the room, focused inward, to allow group conversations. Large floor pillows are stacked in one corner of the room, except one, which lies carelessly in the middle of the floor, apparently left out the last time it was used.
An opening in the northern end of the hallway allows access to the kitchen and dining room at the back of the house, while carpeted stairs twist up at the other end of the hall, leading to the second floor. A door at the base of the J lets out to the front porch.
The barn is built in the old style, a vast three level structure that is greater in height than a mere three stories, actually closer to five. Great wooden posts support the weight of the upper levels and roof, sunk into the hard-packed dirt floor of the first level like a sparse forest of regularly spaced, naked trees. The stalls and flagstones which once were here have been torn out to leave a rather open area where even crinos Garou may roam freely without fear of running into anything but the supports or the walls or the ladder at the back which allows access to the other two levels.
The first two levels are relatively open to each other, the second being only little wider than a catwalk going around all the walls but the front one, which has massive, twenty foot tall doors set into it. The third level is a true second floor except for a place cut out that allowed hay to be tossed down to the ground floor when the farm was actually worked. Now, it is a hayloft where Garou can sleep outside of the house.
The roar of the crowd. The smell of greasepaint. "Now is the winter of our discontent..." An old, darkly nostalgic quality hangs heavy in the air of this empty old theater. Once black-painted windows no longer refuse the light of sun and moon, now broken and open to the city sky.
Largely gutted now, this once gilded and opulent theater spreads like an old grand dame holding desperately to a past now gone and largely forgotten. The plush seats which once held nearly a thousand people are, for the most part, long gone. Time's indifferent hand has dulled the once ornate proscenium arch and faded the velvet red of the main curtain, leaving the wide stage in dark shadows before the gaping and toothless mouth of the music pit.
At the right side of the stage, from the auditorium floor, a door leads toward the back of the theater. To the left of the stage, an old exit sign still glows above a reinforced door. In the back of the auditorium, archways lead back to the lobby and the boarded up front doors.
The old church is dark, dimly lit by outside light coming in through scum-encrusted windows during the day, and tomblike during the night. There is a coatroom in the back of the nave, with separate doors leading off to mens' and womens' restrooms, and two staircases, one going up to the balcony and bell-tower, and the other leading down to the basement. The double doors leading out to the street are at the back of the coatroom.
The hard wooden pews in the sanctuary are, for the most part, still intact. There are even Bibles and hymnals left in the shelves along the back of each row, although many of them look rather chewed on. The altar on a dais at the front of the church is empty, and the lectern that once stood next to it has been knocked over. Rotting red cloth hangs at the very front of the church; there might once have been a design on it, but it has long since faded or been eaten away.
Homey is the first word to come to mind when looking at the farmhouse's kitchen. Dark, wood-paneled wainscoting covers the walls to about waist height, dark beige wallpaper continuing to the ceiling. Twin refrigerators occupy the north wall, facing the large six-burner stove on the south. The kitchen counter runs the length of the eastern wall, broken only by the double-basin sink. Cabinets run above and below the counter and a twin-pane window is set in the wall above the sink. A small pantry is set into an alcove alongside the refrigerators, presumably holding the deep freezer as well as shelves of dry goods.
Some twelve feet above the floor, a large chandelier hangs from the ceiling, lighting the dining room and casting long shadows over the bar to the kitchen. A long table occupies the center of the dining room, three chairs setting along each side, and one on each end. On the west wall, a large window looks out on the trees alongside the western pasture. Set into the north wall is a large cabinet, its glass doors closed on shelves containing a full compliment of fine china and glassware as well as a few decorative nicknacks. On the east, a wide bar separates the dining room from the kitchen.
An opening in the southern wall allows passage to the front entryway of the house, while a sliding glass door in the kitchen opens to a clearing behind the house.
The front door swings open, and Bernie wanders in, humming softly to herself. She looks cheerful, but also, for some reason, preoccupied, as if she's got something engrossing on her mind.
Rotem growls, "What I don't like is being t-treated like a kid." He then moves to sit down on the couch.
Yi glances over as the front door swings open, standing up from her cushion slowly. "Did you hear yourself when we were coming out the barn?" she growls a bit. "I just mentioned we should come in here and clean up our dusty selves before getting the damn farmhouse that we /don't/ clean dirty, and /you/ make a snide comment about watching /me/ in the shower. You're right. You're not a damn kid. You're a bloody pervert." She snarls almost visibly at him.
Rotem rolls his eyes. "Fine, have it your way. I don't c-care." He crosses his arms and stares forwards.
Jolted out of her reverie, Bernie stops short, and then turns her head slowly toward the evident fight, brow still furrowed, but this time with curiosity. Seeing who it is, her eyes flick upward toward heaven a moment, and she slips her hands into her jacket pocket, heading around to lean against the wall and eye her tribemates -- especially the cub.
"That's right. You don't care. And quite frankly cub, 'I don't give a damn' either. You can go call on others for your bloody lessons from now on. I've done my job today." She growls something incomprehensible to those that don't know her eastern language, and storms back into the kitchen.
Rotem growls and then huffs, looking away.
Bernie watches Yi's exit, then regards the cub coolly, saying nothing.
Rotem looks over towards Bernie, "What are you stareing at?" He growls out at her.
In the back of the house, Yi grabs the previously offered can of Coke she'd set on the table, and opens the fridge to set it back in with an audible clang of metal against metal. A continued stream of Canto-curses can be heard being muttered.
Bernie quirks an eyebrow slightly. "I'm not staring at anything," she replies calmly. "As for what I'm looking at? I'm looking at a cub. I'm just trying to figure out what it -thinks- it is."
Rotem rolls his eyes. "How a-about you? You're the same as me. Only difference is you're bending over on demand. N-no thank you. I'll manage fine without them. S-someone wants to get me to do something, to l-learn something, they can come to me as an e-equal. Otherwise they can go fuck themselves."
Yi comes back into the living room, though it is brief. She heads towards the stairs, starts climbing, and then pauses near midway. "It's called submitting to those higher in station, /cub/." Her gaze turns about to look at the ahroun, fire kept in check. "And I will respect you, when you learn where your place is."
Rotem purses his lips towards Yi then touches his ass. His only reply.
Bernie shakes her head at the boy, seemingly unfazed by his reply. "In order of appearance," she replies, still casual in tone, "Number one, no. I'm not the same as you. I'm a cub who's learnt what she's been taught and shown that there's something here worth respecting. Number two, no. You won't manage fine without them. You will die without them. Or quite possibly from them." She looks at him seriously, still calm. "This is not a game. This is not school. This is your life, and you will accept it, or it will be taken away from you. That's not a threat. Those are the facts. Number three... no. You're not their equal. You're not even -my- equal, though you could be if you stopped acting like a spoilt child and started showing that you deserve some respect. You're not being taught for -their- benefit. You're being taught for yours. They've got other things they could be doing than giving you the benefit of their experience and learning, and better things than dealing with a badly behaved child. You are not their equal. You haven't earned it. You and I, we're both still kids. We haven't passed the test that proves we deserve to be treated as adults yet. -Then- we'll be equals, at least to those who aren't still above us."
Dark eyes blaze at the cub's response, clearly not taking his reply well. Yi comes down the stairs, feeling this challenge to her core. Bernie's words almost go unheeded as she points with an angry growl to her cutting tone. "You want me to respect you as an equal? Let's go. To the barn, if you're serious. And Gaia help me if I don't cull you there." Her words drip with venom as she swings open the door to head back to the hay and dust to get dirty.
In the back of the house, Joseph glances about the kitchen quietly. Hearing Yi's voice, her frowns and moves toward it.
Rotem grins, hopping up and following after Yi. "Lets rock then." He moves out of the door to the back.
Bernie sighs, and shakes her head, glancing up to Joseph as he arrives. "Hey," she greets him, with a wry half-smile.
Joseph asks with a look, 'what's going on?' then follows the other Gnawers out to the barn.
Rotem shrugs. "Fine, Whatever you say." He moves into the barn as well, shifting up to glabro as he moves towards the center.
Joseph follows the Gnawers into the barn, his brow furrowed and his expression somewhat grave.
Bernie, in turn, follows Joseph in, hands still in her jacket pockets.
Yi adopts a martial artist's stance, a low growl uttering from her as she starts circling the cub in the center of the barn. However, Rotem will be damned if he's going to try and fight on her terms. He moves quickly back towards the ladder and climbs up it.
Bernie slips around the side of the open area, and climbs atop a stack of haybales, taking a seat there and watching closely.
Yi gazes at the cub climbing the ladder and charges, with a wild cry, leaping up to grab his ankle with her hand as she attempts to pull him back down. The cub, hearing her approach, releases his hands from the ladder, shifting to crinos as he does so. His massive warform comes down like a pile of bricks on the smaller glabro Gnawer. It's quite obvious that Yi would see that one, shifting as well to her warform with a howl. The two of them smash onto the floor with a loud, dull thud. Yi swipes out at the cub's shoulder, claws digging into the points between his shoulder and neck as Rotem sinks his claws down into her sides and holds her down.
Bernie winces visibly from her seat on the haybales as Rotem crashes down on Yi and the pair of them hit the floor, clawing at each other.
Joseph folds his arms across his chest and watches the battle with dark, calculating eyes. He doesn't bother findig a seat, prefering to stand near the wall by the door.
Alicia strides into the barn, stretching up her arms, yawning softly. She trains her eyes first upon the battling Gnawers, then over to Joseph and Bernie, looking confused.
Bernie glances over as Alicia enters. "Sunday, Sunday, Sunday," she declares in a radio announcer voice, somehow managing to put a dry edge on it, "one day only, see smartass arrogant cublet in knock-down, drag out battle with 'til now incredibly patient elder..." The ragabash shakes her head, looking back to the altercation already in progress.
Joseph turns to glance at Alicia as she comes in, but the fight draws his attention back quickly enough.
Three-Blades's claws ball into fists, gripping even more as she pulls the cub closer towards her. Jaws revealing razor sharp fangs as she half-howls, half-snarls and sinks her teeth into the cub's exposed throat, twisting her head to do so. Rotem sees his elder's neck in his view, and snaps down his fangs in a mirror like movement as his claws rip and pull loose, sending blood onto the dirt from his elder. The claws again sink in further up her sides, closer to her ribcage. Both crinos' jaws snap down on each other, though her movement blurred by Rage finds the cub's fleshy underside to his neck. (rolling dice left and right here.) Rotem's jaws take their hold on the side, sinking into muscle. Blades uses her feet as well to her advantage as a blur of movement signals the approaching connection from foot to groin.
Alicia pauses for a moment, wetting her lips in thought. Making her way to Bernie, she leans over to whisper in her best friend's ear.
Alicia whispers "What brought this on? They practicing or is Yi beating on him?"
Bernie leans over to whisper back, keeping her eyes on the fighters as she does so.
You whisper "Yi's beating on him. She decided not take his shit anymore..." Serious worry crosse her face, "oh, fuck, that isn't good. I think we're gonna need Sepdet or someone else who c'c do that magic healing shit..." to Alicia.
Alicia bites her lip at Bernie's words, then returns the soft whispers, dark eyes training upon the brawl.
Alicia whispers "We should break this up or something. Do you want me to get Adam?"
Bernie considers, watching still, brow furrowed, and whispers a reply to the coggie cub.
You whisper "Not sure we should break it up, 'zat our place? Elder disciplinin' a cub... I'd think Joseph'd say somethin' if we should..." More worry. "Can Adam heal?" to Alicia.
Alicia takes a deep breath, running both hands back through her hair, then softly whispers again.
Alicia whispers "Yes, Adam can heal, and fuck it if its our place. Two badly wounded Garou sucks if the Wyrm attacks, and what if one of them dies? Look at it, thats a blood bath, its not going well at all. Its out of control. And Rotem is not in control at all an he's an Ahroun. He may end up killing her, even if he isn't as experienced."
Joseph glances at Alicia and Bernie, his voice rising above the battle long enough to say, "One of you should go find a healer. Look on the bawn."
Bernie nods slightly and whispers to the other cub again, slightly more urgently.
You whisper "Then -get- him!" to Alicia.
Alicia nods her head and hops to her feet, blurring quickly into her feral form.
Bernie slides down off the haybales as well, setting her backpack down and walking over closer to Joseph, leaning up to ask him something quietly.
You whisper "Should we try t' stop them or somethin'?" to Joseph.
Joseph looks like he's actually thinking about it. And, in fact, the Wendigo shifts up to crinos.
Bernie follows suit. Somehow, it just seems like it might be a good idea.
Rotem growls and uses his hold on the elder's throat to keep her from pulling back and removing his throat while he brings his claws out once more. In twin blurs, both claws sink into the back of her neck with a sickening sound. Three-Blades clamps her jaws down more, cutting off the cub's wind as her footclaw smacks right into the family jewel's and lifts him off in a final feat of power. Rolling back, she flings the cub, hold and all, from the top of her, sending him in a forward flip to smash down a couple of feet from her head. The resulting action tears away most of the sides of her neck muscle. Basically, they turned each other into hamburger.
Blooms-Pain heads back inside, with Adam and Agatha in tow.
Adam follows in, being called out of the blue by Alicia for some urgent matter happening here. He looks around the barn as his eyes adjust to the sudden lack of as much light as there is outside.
Agatha follows the two Gaians into the barn, her backpack slung over one shoulder, and her jaw set as she looks around, waiting for her eyes to adjust.
Reads-In-Dark looks about as relieved as a Crinos can to see them, but still distinctly upset. She shifts her weight from one leg to the other, looking over at the two -very- seriously injured combatants.
In crinos, it only takes Soulcatcher two steps to be by Three-Blades' side once the cub is flung off of her. The Wendigo still does not know healing, so he simply and efficiently calculates her injuries, catching her if she falls, until the real healers show up.
Three-Blades lies quite merrily bleeding on the floor, head to head with cub, and both bleeding quite profusely from their mutually mauled throats. Yi has quite a few holes up her sides, and Rotem's muscles on the collarbone are torn up pretty bad.
Adam decides, first, to go where Joseph has gone, since he recognizes that combatant. He kneels down by Yi, placing his hands on her as turquoise light wells up under them. "What happened here," he asks.
Soulcatcher explains quickly in a gruff, accented English. "Three Blades was teaching the bad cub. But he is an ahroun, and she is a no moon."
Agatha watches Adam for a moment, then heads for the other combatant. Although she doesn't have any healing Gift, she knows how to apply a compression bandage reasonably well. She grabs some shreds of cloth shakes them out, then leans on them on the cub's wounded shoulder to slow the bleeding.
Reads-In-Dark answers as well, glaring at the injured cub, ~Arrogant, badly behaved cub -finally- made Three-Blades angry enough to initiate a serious ass kicking for attitude adjustment.~ Through her own anger, the worry comes back, ~Will she be all right?~
"She will live," Adam says, as the light subsides. "However, she should stay off her feet for the next few days." He sighs. "And this cub is a discipline problem?"
Soulcatcher, not really knowing the cub except for what he saw today, leaves Reads to answer that question. He attends to Blades' wounds in the mundane fashion, after Adam heals what he can.
Reads-In-Dark nods, eyes narrowing. ~Yes. Acts-Without-Thinking, Trouble, Lacks-Social-Graces, Tantrum, those are among the names he's earned. He's lucky not to have been throated yet.~
Agatha hisses to the cub, "You'd better watch yourself, *boy*. We are not in such dire need of fighters that we can afford to pamper those who will not learn to behave."
And here's someone else who's heard of the news of the fact that Yi and Rotem got their asses kicked. Helen pokes her head in the barn, and opens the door. "What the hell happened?"
Adam frowns, thinking about it for a while. "Well, if he is such a discipline problem, then I do not want him hanging around here until he actually knows how to behave." He looks to both female Gnawers. "I want him out of here by sunrise."
Agatha lets up a little on the pressure she's exerting on Rotem's shoulder to see if the bleeding has eased.
Blooms-Pain sits down next to Reads and lets out a soft whine, eyes training upon Yi's form, hoping that she's ok.
Reads-In-Dark, the only one of the pair conscious, nods. ~I'll get him out of here, rhya. Maybe we'll be lucky and he'll have learned something. This time.~ She glowers, and shakes her head, still glancing periodically at Yi with serious concern.
Adam stands up. "I'll leave it to you two, as his keepers, to handle it." He sighs. "And maybe your male cub will heal, in time. Having him like that now might learn him sone respect, if that is what you wish to teach him."
Helen's eyes widen as she takes in the scene. The Black Fury steps into the barn, staring at bleeding Rotem and Yi. "What the fuck's goin' on?" Her attention diverts to Blooms-Pain, and she approaches the galliard. "What happened?"
Blooms-Pain glances over to her sister and flicks her tail in annoyance. Stupid male cub, got into a fight with Blades, and nearly killed her and him.
Yi slits open an eye, letting one very, very tiny moan of pain go.
Agatha looks up from her first aid attempt on the male cub. "This idiot does not know how to behave. The next time you wish to practice beating on a male, Helen, choose on such as this, not a human. Now, hand me those rags there."
~It's one of the things he needs to learn,~ the other Gnawer cub replies, giving Rotem a quick once over, and wincing. She melts down into her usual homid form. "That... doesn' look likely t' heal itself, though. Aw, fuck." She sighs, and wanders over closer, though she gets distracted by Yi's moan, turning back and crouching a bit. "...Yi?" she asks quietly, touching the back of her elder's hand gently.
Helen, obedient little ragabash, does as Agatha says, moving to pick up the rags and give them to the galliard. She seats herself alongside the other Fury. "Fuckin' moron," she declares. "Fuckin' around with his elder. Piece of shit."
Adam wipes a hand down his face. "Then both of them should shift to a form than can heal. What do they teach cubs these days?"
Blooms-Pain glances over to Adam and snorts, will note that /she/ is turning out ok.
Bernie blinks at Adam, arching a brow. "I'm pretty sure he's unconscious, rhya," she points out.
Agatha mutters, "Nothing, Adam. They teach them nothing." She takes the rags that Helen hands her and ties a wad of blood-soaked bandage tightly to Rotem's shoulder. Not expertly, mind you, but certainly tightly.
Soulcatcher blurs down towards his birth form. Cradling Yi's hed and trying to make her more comfortable, he frowns at the discussion.
Yi would protest if she could, but isn't in that sort of condition to argue. Bernie gets a bit more of an eye, as well as the Wendigo elder.
"Not you," Adam mutters to his own cub, then frowns as he notices the cub is in fact unconscious. "Fine," he mutters, stalking over to Rotem. He kneels down by the boy child, and places his hand on him, willing the light to come back. The struggle of forcing healing against the Ahroun's Rage shows on his face, and the gash on his neck does heal up.
Blooms-Pain puffs up her fur a bit, holding her head up proudly. Yup, this one has the prettiest-paws, and is a good cub.
Bernie's jaw tightens a bit at this, but she remains respectful as she replies to the remarks. "With all due respect, that's unfair. To Yi in particular. He has been taught, and taught, and taught. He's refused to -learn-. Also unfair to me. I've been taught, and I've learned." She squeezes Yi's hand gently, reassuringly, and looks over to the work on the cub. "Thank you," she adds, evidentally in regard ot the healing.
Helen glances over to Blooms-Pain. "Rides-Fire calls me White-Ear," she says, amused at that, and then glances to Rotem. The ragabash makes a face. "Dude, you should let him keep his fuckin' wounds, man. Teach him somethin'. But that's what I think." The Fury glances towards Bernie, then Yi, and then the unfamiliar Wendigo. The Greek girl looks back to her elder.
Blooms-Pain chuffs a bit and takes Helen's pant cuffs in her jaw, tugging lightly, then releases. White-Ear? Good name for you. Even though I still like Bug-Head. Sis.
Agatha sits back to watch Adam, a frown on her face. She glances at Helen when the cub opens her mouth. "Quiet, child. Do not second-guess your elders."
Adam nods slowly at Bernie's thanks. "It is not much, as his anger blocks any positive healing I can give him. Take him away, and when he wakes up, keep him in another form until he heals up. If he persists, I'll leave it up to your Tribe. But he is not to come back here until Elan himself tells me he can behave."
Helen does not reply to Agatha. She peers at Blooms-Pain and announces, "Bug-Head Number Two."
Blooms-Pain flattens her ears back, then nips at Helen's leg. Not a bug head, this one has pretty paws. Your the bug head, you wasp-eater.
Yi finally opens both eyes to at least make sure she's alive and staring up at the ceiling. Vision a bit hazy, she focuses a bit on Joseph's nose, vaguely aware of the squeezed hand.
Agatha stands, watching the female cubs, and still frowning. "Name-calling is childish, even among friends," she remarks.
Bernie nods, ignoring Helen and Alicia as she looks between her injured tribemates. "I'll make sure t' pass it on. Thanks 'gain..." Her brow furrows again as she looks at the wounded. All right. You've got two wounded, and a hell of along walk. How do you transport them? Hmm. For the moment, she settles for squeezing Yi's hand again and asking softly, "Yi? You should maybe shift, yeah? 'f y'can."
Joseph gives Yi a brief smile, and he asks of Bernie, since Yi can't answer yet. "Do you have a way to get him back to the scab?"
Helen glances over to Agatha. "Jesus. We were kidding," she says, standing as well. Her eyes turn to the galliard Gaian cub. "Wanna come outside with me and let 'em handle this?"
The Galliard cub shifts up to her breed form, plucking a few pieces of straw from her hair, then smiles to Helen and Agatha. "Um... well... I should help Bernie out." Rubbing her neck, she looks over to the Elders.
Bernie eyes the cub, and shakes her head. "Shorta carryin' him over my shoulder or draggin' him along behind, no, not really. Sure I c'n thinka somethin', though..." She ponders, biting her bottom lip. "I should find Kaz, she hadda van th' other day."
Shift? The cliath Gnawer attempts an answer, resulting in a bit of a coughing fit.
Agatha picks up her backpack, preparatory to leaving. "If I can assist, please send word to... the Black Fury House." She was apparently going to call it something else, but couldn't get the words out.
Yi luckily can see some of the occupants through the blood and gore around her features, making out the Fury from previous afternoons, and Adam. Oh shit, Adam. A gurgle comes from her, as if she wanted to start apologizing in a waterfall of words.
Alicia bites her lip a bit. "Is Yi ok to walk?" She heads over quickly to her friend, laying a hand gently upon her shoulder, the uninjured part.
Adam hmms, standing up. "I...think she is," he says.
"...If I c'n get th' van or somethin' like, she won't hafta..." Mind made up, Bernie gives Yi's hand another comforting squeeze, and then stands, running a hand through her curls, and stepping over to pick up her backpack. Looking to Alicia, she asks, "...take carea Yi, please, 'licia? 'til I get back?" She gives Joseph a weak smile, then Adam and Agatha, and then starts toward the doors.
Helen pipes up: "I can drive, y' know." She shifts her weight from foot-to-foot.
Alicia nods her head and smiles. "I can drive also." She feints a look to Adam, then settles down a bit. "Not that... I'd be allowed to.. of course." She huffs, drifting her fingers lightly through Yi's hair.
Bernie pauses at the door, glancing at Helen. "You gotta car?" she queries, cutting to the heart of the matter.
Agatha heads out of the barn following Bernie. "Has Tecmessa cleared you to go into the city without an elder, Helen?"
Adam's eyebrows raise. "Same reason," he says, under his breath, giving Alicia a sidelong glance.
Helen bites her lower lip. "No. She hasn't. But if I go with y'all...I mean, I know where my mom's car is and shit and I could freak her out and get the keys."
Yi coughs up some more ick, attempting to at least sit up and failing miserably at it. Alicia's fingers get quite a bit of blood covering as the cub's fingers run through matted hair.
Alicia helps Yi sit up, hardly caring about the blood. She has grown used to it by now. Letting out a sigh, she softly whispers to her. "Careful.. don't move 'round too much."
Agatha shakes her head. "I will not be going. An unconscious Cliath is not adequate accompaniment. You will stay here or come back to the House."
Bernie shakes her head. "Thanks, but pretty sure I got it handled." She pushes her curls back, and heads out the door.
Joseph asks of yi, "Do you need anything I can get for you?"
[The Rialto -- Auditorium]
Kaz is perched on the stage, reading. She's also wearing a blanket.
Bernie comes in through the alley door, looking distinctly pink and out of breath. She may be in much better shape than when she first arrived, but farmhouse to city is still a long way to run, or even run and walk fast. Seeing Kaz, she looks relieved, and approaches, leaning against the edge of the stage. "..." she says, and shakes her head, taking a slow, deep breath. "Kaz," she manages this time, albeit breathlessly, "...you hadda van th' other day, right? Still got that?"
"Breathe," explains Kaz, as Bernie approaches. "It ain't mine, but I could borrow it, yeah. Why, what's up?"
Bernie lifts a finger in a 'hold on' gesture, and does as instructed, breathing a few times. "'kay," she says, partially recovered, "Rotem fin'ly pissed Yi off enough t' give him a full-on ass-kicking, an' they almost killed each other, an' Adam came an' healed Yi an' healed Rotem enough t' keep him from dyin' right there, an' said he doesn't want him 'round th' Farmhouse 'til Elan tells him person'ly that Rotem's stopped bein' a stupid fuckhead," she's probably paraphrasing... "an' so Yi an' I are s'posta get him outta there a-s-a-p, but I can't carry him that far an' Yi when I left couldn' even stand yet, though Adam said she'd be okay, so I figured 'f you had that van we could go get 'em an' bring 'em back. Yeah?" Explanation done, she goes back to breathing.
Kaz listens, jaw tightening at the news. There's a pause, and then she says, abruptly, "Right." She puts the book down and hops off the stage, "Remind /me/ to kick his ass, too. C'mon, Rach hardly ever actually uses it herself."
[Back to the Barn]
Adam sighs. "Yi, don't force the Change," he says, trying to be comforting. "But...it has been trying, I admit. Even the near-man should keep you on your feet, about now."
Rotem's world is a blur of pain, he groans and tries to move, unsuccessfully.
Owen bolts through the doors, slamming them shut behind him with increasing strength as he's already shifting up to crinos. He turns and nearly bellows out, ~Alright! Where's the little punk bitch now? Fucking cause me to get interrupted with emergency run ins at the Caern.~
Yi in her fuzzy mindedness doesn't quite register being on her feet, but now that she's been conscious for a short while and concentrating, the cliath makes a second attempt at shifting. .. which doesn't quite take when Owen's roar fills the room.
It's sometime after Owen's minor explosion that the sound of a van is heard. With Kaz driving, Rachel's van occasionally backfires, and as it finally pulls up to the house, the gears grind rather alarmingly. It does, at least, get Kaz and Bernie /to/ the Barn, though, with Kaz opening and closing the doors as quickly as possible. "Kaz and Bernie Moving Company, atcher service."
Adam looks up sharply. Hearing Owen's words, the Child of Gaia bursts into Crinos, himself, moving in front of the cub. ~And those things happen, Lion's-Roar! What of it?~
Well shit. Yi's about done concentrating, though her soft words cough out as Bernie and Kaz hurry into the barn. "Get..the cub.."
Bernie glances at Kaz, and nods, shifting into glabro as she makes something of an endrun around the crinosed and wounded toward the source of all trouble, or at least recent trouble.
Kaz doesn't shift, personally; she just heads around Owen, too. "Shut up, Owen," she mutters, as she gets to Rotem. "So, fuckhead, you ever gonna stop causin' yourself trouble?" she asks, remarkably cheerfully, as she settles down near him, ready to do the fireman's carry, if necessary.
Rotem coughs out some blood, along with a word, "Sorry." he doesn't quite know who he's talking to through, vission still blurred.
Lion's-Roar doesn't even pay Adam the slightest attention as he storms forward, at least not until Adam positions himself between Rotem and himself. ~You gonna keep coddling him until he provides a class A fuckup? Pop him off your damn titty and make him responsible for his actions, for fuck's sake, or I swear to god I'll gonna castrate him and shove his own balls down his throat!~
As half the world knows, Kaz is fairly rough hewn, but when there's a small wounded animal, or in this case, cub, she tends to get fairly protective. It's therefore rather surprising when she merely grunts at Rotem. "Yeah. Bet you are." Turning her attention to Bernie, she adds, "I think I can handle him m'self. You open th' doors an' stuff?"
"'bout time," Bernie remarks to Rotem, in the gutteral growl her voice insists on being in this form, and crouches down to slide her arms under his in preparation to lift his seriously battered body. At Kaz's comment, though, she nods, and rises again, heading to hold the door.
Yi at least is going to get herself away from the two crinii, trying to shift /still/ with all the Rage floating about the room. "Bloody hell," she spits out with a few drops of blood.
Dies-for-Others is in front of Blooms-Pain, figuring that was who Owen was talking about when he busted in. ~I am not the one to ask.~ he says flatly to the Get.
Kaz does shift into glabro to lift him up, but basically slings him over her shoulder, shifting down again once the heavy lifting parts of things are done. This is not, for those playing along at home, a very comfortable way of doing things. "Thanks," she grunts at Bernie, and then tells Owen, as she gets a better grip on Rotem's legs, "Shut up, Fuckwit, we're gettin' there." Well, there's one way of guaranteeing pain in your future.
Rotem groans out in pain, or rather more pain. Seeing as pain is now a relative term to him. He croaks out some indescernable syllables as Kaz tosses him over her shoulder.
Bernie holds the barn door open, and starts calculating how fast she can get the van door open too if it comes down to it... 'course then Yi's still there... lovely.
Lion's-Roar grabs Kaz by the shoulder to keep her still while he finishes speaking to Adam. ~Just keep getting in my way,~ he snarls before addressing Kaz. ~You are seriously going to let the walking veil-breach-about-to-happen off with but a slap again, aren't you?~
Yi finally manages to at least kneel on the ground, willing herself up with a bit of effort. Two crinii on even a gibbous moon is bound to cause a bit of trouble. "If you call that a slap," she breathes out with an almost huff, "Then I'm not bloody worth the mojo spent." Her growl, though hoarse, makes itself known.
Kaz glares at her ex-packmate. "Thanks for assuming, Getwad. What I'm going to /do/ is get the fuckhead back to the basement, and then I'm going to make a -point-. Hopefully, one he can understand. You get my message, Owen?"
Alicia glances between the two and takes a nervous step back and behind Adam, peering over his shoulder at the argument.
Bernie shifts down to homid, and seconds Yi quietly, "He won't learn anything -dead-, and that's when he would've been in another couple minutes 'f Adam hadn' fixed th' gapin' slash through th' jugular."
Lion's-Roar downright fires a glare at Kaz. ~I fucking get you, mule. I will trust in you now. You make sure he gets _my_ message as well, cause ain't no one here wanting to play this game anymore.~ He pulls out a knife and hands it to Kaz. ~Here's a 'point' of my own.~
Dies-for-Others lets Alicia peer around him, as he is in Crinos now. He watches the Get argue with the Gnawers. ~Let the Gnawers handle their own cub,~ he says, eyes narrowing. ~If you feel they should do it differently, bring it up with their Elders.~
Alicia bites her lip a bit, listening to the rumblings of Garou tongue, letting out a sigh.
Kaz takes it with one hand. "Right. I gotcher point, bubbeleh." Sticking the knife in her pocket, she hefts the cub again, and starts heading out the door.
Yi is back up on her feet, wobbling a bit but still balanced enough to stand with a grit of her teeth in pain. The shift is slow, painstaking, but her form grows enough to take on the near-man's shape before she attempts trundling out with the rest of the Gnawers.
Lion's-Roar turns his glare, and wrath, upon Dies-for-Others as soon as he's finished talking to Kaz. ~A veil breach is all our concerns, warden. I've already had to cover for one of theirs this week and I'll be damned if I have to go into hiding again because of their lack of discipline. Got it?~
Bernie holds the door for the other Gnawers, and follows them out silently, with a soft wave to the coggie cub as the door closes behind them.
Kaz doesn't even bother saying goodbye to the Gaians.
~I do," Dies-for-Others admits, nodding. ~If you feel that strongly about it, why do you not go with them to ensure the Veil is kept intact? And report to me should the occasion arise?"
Alicia swallows loudly in her throat, still peering around Adam, over towards Owen. She softly sighs and shoves her hands down deep into her pockets.
Yi follows the rest out, though a small grunt goes through her. ~Thanks Adam-rhya.~ Alicia gets a quiet, slow wave before Yi circles around Owen and out of the Ragey spot.
Kaz, after driving like a, well, very bad driver, parks the van carefully and then dumps Rotem onto a pew. "So. Yi. Were you two sparrin', or what?"
Yi, after stumbling in with some help from Bernie, thunks heavily onto a pew and lies down with a short exhale. Her answer doesn't come yet. Maybe Bernie would supply one.
Rotem groans out in pain, as Kaz drops him down to the pew.
Kaz glances at Bernie, apparently not noticing Rotem's pain.
Bernie tries to cushion Yi's sitting as best she can, helping the older Ragabash to be as comfortable as possible, given the circumstances. "The cub," she starts after a few moments, as it becomes plain that Yi isn't ready to answer, "was bein' disrespectful, as usual, an' insistin' that he be treated as an equal, acting as if he was doin' everyone else a -favour- by 'letting' 'em teach him shit. Actin' like a spoilt brat 'cause he doesn't get th' respect he doesn't deserve. He pissed Yi off an' she walked inta th' kitchen, sayin' basic'ly she was done with him, an' I tried t' 'splain his place t' him, again, an' meanwhile Yi was walkin' upstairs an' reminded him 'bout th' lit'ny -- submission to those of higher station an' all. An' -he-," she fairly spits it, disgusted, "makes a kissy face an' touches his ass at her. So she tells him, fine, you wanna rumble, we'll rumble, go t' th' Barn. And they kicked each other's asses." Paraphasesd, as usual, one could assume.
Kaz heaves a sigh. "Yi. You mind if I hamstring him for awhile? I think Owen wants, um, more drastic shit, but I ain't got the stones t'do that."
Yi turns her head (painfully) to the galliard. "You're going to what?"
Kaz says, clearly, "Hamstring him. It ain't like it's permanent, it's just the fuckhead don't get people talkin' to him, he don't get people beatin' him up, maybe someone fuckin' up his ability to move at all for a few days'll get it through his head." After a long moment, she adds, in a much less casual voice, "I fuckin' hate it, Yi, but he doesn't listen, and he's hurtin' people. Seems like hurtin' people is all he does."
"Next time," Bernie chimes in, sounding almost reluctant, and possibly slightly ashamed, "...if there is a next time... I won't r'mind th' healer he's too hurt t' heal himself. 'f he keeps seriously screwin' up you, N'vada, everyone else, I'll let him die next time." She looks down, and pushes her curls back. "He's done nothin' t' show he's worth riskin' anyone else for," she adds, quietly miserable to be saying it.
Kaz reaches a hand out, not looking, and lays it on Bernie's back. "It ain't easy," she says, quietly, still watching Yi.
Yi plants a heavy hand on the pew backing, hoisting herself up to a sitting position as she gazes over to the pew with the bloody cub. ~Well... he's going to have enough trouble moving his arms with what I gave him already,~ she observes with a low grunt. She's heard of this before, hamstringing, but in a different sense. ~That throat isn't gonna talk for a while yet either.~ Her brow furrows. With a soft sigh, she nods to Kaz like the judge to the executioner.
Kaz shifts up to crinos, and, without any preamble, slices through the cub's hamstrings, right there on the pew. She looks at him, stonefaced, for a moment, and then sits in a pew somewhat far away from him, shifting down while she lowers her head for a moment.
Yi sighs as Kaz executes the crippling move, turning her head with a growling wince. ~Bloody cub... didn't Nev put any sense into you..~ If anything, her own voice is tinged with regret.
Bernie sighs as well, fingers combing through her curls again. "Stupid kid," she mutters softly.
Rotem screams out in pain, then falls limp against the pew, unconcious again.
Kaz winces, back hunching slightly. "Christ," she mutters, unhappily.
~Thought I heard Adam say things,~ Yi murmurs a bit hoarsely, her throat not exactly in it's best condition. ~About Elan..or something.~
Bernie nods. "Yeah," she confirms quietly. "Incorrigible here can't go back t' th' farm 'til Elan himself tells Adam, himself, that Rotem's learned his lesson an' become a pr'ductive member 'f 'rou society."
Kaz eventually raises her head. "Makes sense to me," she says, a little hoarsely.
Yi rumbles softly, the barest signs of a nod from her healing neck. ~Damn...~ she mutters after a moment. ~Forgot my sweater.~
"Where, Yi? Th' farm? I'll get it for ya when I'm there 'gain... y'want my jacket, f'r now?" Bernie offers, hands moving to each side of the zipper.
~No.. It's ok,~ comes the cliath newmoon's croaking reply. Her hand comes up to her neck, lightly touching the tender regenerated flesh. ~Blankets in the basement. I'm going to have to get a new set of clothes...~ she mutters softly. One could see quite a bit of splotches of blood, both hers and not, on her tee.
Kaz offers, "I can grab you a bunch, later, if you want."
Bernie nods, sitting up a little straighter. "C'n I do anythin' else for ya, then?" she asks Yi.
Kaz shakes her head, and stands up, finally. "Yeah, Yi. You got pretty befukt, there. 'f y'need anythin'...?"
~No, I'll be ok,~ Yi replies to the two concerned.
Bernie nods, and stands as well, pacing a bit along the aisle between the pews. "Okay. Say if you want or need anythin', yeah?" She adjusts her glasses.
Kaz flops into a pew, and grunts. "Fuckit," she mutters.
Yi chuckles, a little hoarse but it is with good humour despite the events of today. ~I'll be fine, really. Probably should head downstairs. Don't want any Veil breach up here.~ She gets up, somehow not using her arms and too much strain on her neck, before patting Bernie on the shoulder. ~Prolly take the cub too...~
Kaz immediately rises again. "I c'n do that. Ain't no way you doin' carryin', not like that you ain't." This would be Kaz feeling guilty for not having been there, despite the fact that that's entirely illogical.
Simultaneous with Kaz, Bernie volunteers, "We'll do that...." trailing off as the Cliath speaks. "...yeah. You c'n toss him 'round later," she adds, with a half-smile.
Yi nods with the slightest movement of her head, giving the two others some space to move the cub. ~I don't think I'll be doing any tossing anytime soon,~ she grins, quite a strange picture as her hair and face are pretty much caked in dried blood and such. ~I don't think I'll be able to go out lookin' like this will I...~ Her eyes turn towards herself.
Kaz says, decidedly, "Shower. Rialto's got a shitty one, Sig's place has a better one, but you f'sure need one. Fuckhead here can wait on it, but you -- you need t'get th' blood off."
Bernie nods. "Def'nitely. Matt's place's gotta decent one too," she starts, then pauses, considering, "...but it's on th' fifth floor an' th' elevator's broken so Signe's might be easier t' get to right now."
Yi does a sort of salute motion, awkward and not with a pained tensing of her throat towards the two Gnawers. ~Maybe I'll come back with a bucket of water for him,~ she notes with a slight eye to the cub. ~I'll see you two later then. Promise I won't kill anyone else.~ She quirks her lip in a feral smirk.
Bernie grins fleetingly at that, and nods. "See thatcha don't, Killer," she mock-scolds the other raggie, and goes back to pacing around the aisle a few moments before regarding the still unconscious cub. "So... downstairs with him?"
Kaz grins, slowly, though there's the faint echo of guilt, still. "Sure thing, chief. He needs it. Anyway, have a good one." She turns to regard Rotem, and sighs. "Yeah, boss. Downstairs."
Yi gives the two a grin, and then moves the tarp just barely before slipping out, her form seeming to blur away in the process.
Rotem stirs slightly, barely concious. A pained groan coming from his lips at he tries to move slightly.
Kaz glances sharply at the cub, and then tells him, in words of one syllable, "Shift. Right now."
Rotem groans, not really understanding whoever it is that is yelling at him, through the blur of pain.
Kaz crouches down next to him and says, a bit quieter, "Shift. You'll heal better in some other form."
Bernie pauses as the cub moves, and steps slightly back, letting Kaz handle him. She waits to see if she should or can do anything.
Rotem shifts slowly to glabro, groaning with pain from the effort.
Softly, Kaz says, "Rock." This is, of course, a slight problem in terms of carrying, so, accordingly, shifts up into Crinos to carry him downstairs. Laziness central, that's Kaz.
Since Kaz seems to have the carrying handled by hserself, Bernie holds the door to the basement for her to carry the cub down and leave him there.
[Back to the Farmhouse]
Lucca had come in a minute or so before the Gnawer Patrol, just as a side note - and upon hearing the cussing in ye olde tongue, jogs towards the kitchen. "Huh-? Sepdet!" Beam. "You chop anything off?"
The front door opens, and Bernie enters, holding the doors open for Kaz. "...I dunno 'zactly where she left it," the cub remarks, "either in here or in th' Barn, I'd guess, though..."
In the back of the house, Alicia raises a brow up as she hears the curse, turning her eyes towards the Strider. Wandering over, she peers down, reaching a hand out to gently brush along Sepdet's shoulder. "Hey... you ok there?"
In the back of the house, Sepdet hurriedly pushes away the odd flat curved piece of bone she was carving on with a stone awl, lest she get blood on it. "It'll grow back," she mutters, clenching her right hand in her left. "Heya," she greets belatedly, with something more resembling a good-natured smile. "Anyone seen Yi?"
"Yeah, we can check the barn inna sec." Kaz pushes her hair back out of her eyes, and calls, "Yo, you called?" to Sepdet. "She's back Citywards."
In the back of the house, Lucca calls out towards the Gnawers, "What'd you lose?" and then processes the statement. Oh. "Dammit, I keep missing the gossip," she bitches with a surprisingly un_bitchy tone.
In the back of the house, Sepdet raises her voice. "Kaz? Oh, okay. Joseph said there was trouble here earlier." She gives Alicia a faint shake of the head, warning the cub away gently. "I'm fine," she reassures the youngster under her breath, then answers more loudly, "My concentration." She opens her hands after a moment and licks the blood off of the side of her hand; evidently there was a pretty deep gouge there just at the base of her forefinger, but it's sealing quickly.
"Lookin' for Yi's sweater," the Gnawer cub replies, "...she took it off earlier an' kinda didn' think 'f it when we took 'er back t' th' city." Suiting action to word, she looks around the couch area for signs of the errant fleece.
Kaz pokes around the bookshelves, then heads into the kitchen. "Well," she admits, "Her and our fuckhead of a cub kinda got into an altercation. But she's ok, mostly."
In the back of the house, Alicia furrows her brows a bit as she steps away from Sepdet. Glancing over towards Kaz and Bernie, she heads quickly into the living room to greet her best friend.
In the back of the house, Sepdet picks up the primitive-looking implement she was carving rather possessively and glances around for the tool that slipped her hand. Kaz's answer brings a worried lift to the Strider's eyebrows. "Mostly? Duat, Kaz, I just healed her from Revel. Don't your cubs have any respect?"
In the back of the house, Lucca ahs, nods, glances over at the bone-chunk that Sepdet was fooling with. "You know, we oughta make some rings like in Tolkien's shit. Or Silmarils." Her own eyebrow lifts and she glances at Kaz; "You have -more- cubs?"
Bernie glances toward the kitchen and clarifies, with a slight grin, "...that'd be our OTHER fuckhead of a cub, not me, just in case anyone was worried..." She wanders over to Alicia, and gives the coggie a mock-glare, "An' what's with not standin' up for me earlier, huh?" She smiles, giving her a quick hug.
Alicia wraps her arms around Bernie tightly, hugging back. "Man, when Owen starts going off, there's no way in hell I'm going to step up for Jesus Christ himself if he asked me to. That dude is /scary/."
In the back of the house, Kaz jerks a thumb in Bernie's direction. "The non-fuckheads, the ones with /brains/, /they/ got respect. Rotem, though, he got more muscle than brain in that skull of his, and it takes awhile for things to register. Maybe hamstringin' him'll help." She does not sound happy at the prospect. It takes her a moment to get up the proper motivation to grin at Lucca. "Ain't you never heard? We breed like rabbits."
Bernie grins at Alicia, "...I mean b'fore that, but I'm kiddin' anyhow. I think Yi musta left th' thing in th' barn..." She takes the other cub's hand and heads into the kitchen with the others. "You got a new one too, though," she addresses Lucca, "..an' she didn' seem th' fuckhead type, either."
Sepdet shudders visibly at the mention of hamstringing. "Yi's all right, though? What's 'mostly' signify?" she presses.
In the front rooms, Alicia perks up a bit at the mention of another cub, gripping her friends hand tight as she's led back into the kitchen.
Lucca says mildly, but seriously, "You want I should break both his legs?" Of course, she'd probably shoot him in the kneecaps first, or even better, have Rik do it. That'd be a fun exercise in mafiosi techniques. "Oh, and Owen's on the rag today?"
Kaz mutters, "When is Owen /not/ on the rag?" and shrugs at Sepdet, managing to look concerned but not worried. "She's hurt. She's gonna be hurt for a little. But she ain't half dead, like the cub is."
The metis then adds, to Lucca, "Handled it, thanks."
Sepdet reads more from Kaz's expression and relaxes again. "I'm sure you did. Idiot pups." She shoots a stern look at Bernie and Alicia, but can't hold it for more than a few seconds before breaking into a softer expression and a glimmer of a smile. "Only some."
Bernie shakes her head, "I'd say more like 99.44 percent dead. Like Ivory, only not so much with the purity." She makes a face, wandering toward the door, and grins briefly at Sepdet as the Strider excepts them from the set of idiot pups. "Be right back, gonna check th' barn for that fleece..."
Alicia lets a soft giggle brush past her lips as she traces a few lingering strands of bangs back behind an ear with the free hand. "An I'm going with her, see ya later."
Lucca says, with an air of satisfaction, "Yeah, those Get are just so in touch with their inner children that they're gettin' locked up on statutory rape charges. Woo!" She does a brief Michael Jackson crotch-grab-and-pose for a moment, and then leans back against the counter. "S'long," she notes at the cubs.
Sepdet looks after them thoughtfully, distractedly. "Ka-LUCCA!" The Strider turns suddenly grayer, face locking up like setting concrete.
Bernie pokes around a bit, avoiding the lingering puddles of blood, and heads toward a promising pile of hay off to one side. "...think I r'member Yi standin' over there earlier..."
Alicia wrinkles her nose a bit as she plods to the other side, eyes searching about. "Why don't you just let her use one of my jackets? I got like... a trillion or something, an they are definitly heavier. You know I wear those gangster things."
"I offered t' lend her my jacket, but she said nah. I think she likes th' fleece." Bernie shrugs, leaning far enough over a haybale to lift her boots off the floor. "A-HA! We have fleece-ocity. Fleeceness. Whatever it is, we got it." She lifts the garment up triumphantly, dropping back onto her feet.
Alicia makes the sound that usually means Super Mario has grabbed a flag. "Ta-Da! Fi'thousand points for you!" A wide grin spreads along her face as she rocks upon the balls of her feet. "Hey, Valentines Day is coming up... I wonder if I can *BEG* Adam into letting me go to the city to see Tom."
"If not, he better come see you here, or I'll be forced t' go kick his ass," Bernie replies, with a quick grin that fades slightly as she pushes a curl back behind her head. "...it is, innit. I'd almost forgotten 'bout that. Mrm..." She looks thoughtful a second, but shakes it off, "...so 'f he letsya go, whatcha gonna do?" Shaking and brushing hte straw off the fleece, she folds the thing up neatly.
Meanwhile, inside, and included as a special treat:
Kaz asks Lucca, "djou hear what Bernie said?" She is, evidently, trying to change the subject.
Lucca's eyes cross slightly. "About the sweater?"
Kaz says, patienty, "About your cub."
Lucca points vaguely at herself. "-My- cub?"
Kaz nods, smile slowly rising. "-Your- cub."
Lucca ain't smiling, oh no. "Oh shit."
Sepdet looks up. "Good Gaia, you're pregnant too?"
"Whatever it is he wants me to." Alicia replies softly, her cheeks rising in a red tint. "But, I know Adam isn't ganna let me go. I may as well see if Tom can come over, and I'll make him dinner." Licking her lips, she shrugs half heartidly, looking to Bernie. A soft sigh touches her lips, feeling slightly bad.
Bernie nods, brushing another bit of hay off the shirt. "That'll be cool," she remarks, "...'cause you cook all kickass an' all. Ev'ryone thinks so." She smiles gamely, adding, "...'f y' borrowed somea th' blankets an' all from th' attic or somethin', you could prolly go find somewhere you're allowed that'd be nice t', like.. look at th' stars or somethin', too, yeah?" Glancing down a second, she reaches up to resettle her glasses. "...we should prolly take this back in, seein' as we found it."
Sepdet glances over at Lucca and Kaz, brow furrowing, vaguely aware that some secret just slipped right past her.
The back door opens, admitting one ragabash cub, triumphantly bearing in her hands one neatly folded fleece sweater. "Found it!" she exclaims, pushing the door shut again behind her.
Lucca sniggers for a moment, and then says "Woo!" at Bernie as she marches in.
Sepdet smiles. "Good cubs," she says plainly, "are helpful."
Kaz says, "Rockin'," extremely firmly, and wanders off to the bathroom.
Bernie sets the sweater down on the kitchen table, and takes a seat in one of the chair, slipping into a comfortable slouch in it. Grinning at the comment, she remarks, "Feel like I'm a bad cartoon in Highlights for Kids..."
Sepdet blinks even more. "I'm afraid I don't know that one," she says, still working diligently on her carving.
Bernie crosses her arms on the table, leaning forward and resting her chin on them. "Highlights's this really tragic'ly earnest magazine for li'l kids, an' it runs these really crappy cartoons in it that're all moral-preachy. I mean, not that there's anythin' wrong with havin' a message, but they don' bother with funny or anythin', just beatcha over th' head. I think they're aimin' at, like, three year olds or somethin'. Anyway onea th' cartoons is Goofus an' Gallant, an' it's like bad cub, good cub...," she puts on a quoting voice, "'Goofus tells his elders where to shove it. Gallant shows respect where it is due.' Stuff like that." She grins, and shrugs. "...whatcha workin' on?"
Sepdet winces. "Silver Fangs must've written it." She finishes a curving line describing the back of some bulbous animal standing on its hindlegs and glances up. "I believe you'd call it a magic wand. It's an old talisman of my people, used for protection."
Bernie's hand moves involuntarily to her throat, where her own talisman of protection used to be. It finds the key that hangs there now, instead, and closes around it, fairly tightly. "Yeah? That's pretty cool... your people bein' th' Striders, or some other groupa people, in this case?"
Sepdet nods. "The Striders, and in particular, the people of Khem. Egypt. I was born and raised there in the ruins of the old tombs."
Bernie smiles, still idly fiddling with the key about her neck. "Cool! I was really inta Egypt when I was little. Like, eight or nine, I mean. But then I got d'stracted... so what's it protection from, anythin' in particular, or jus', like, gen'ral badness?"
Sepdet nods. "And especially the dangers of childbirth and spirits that might find a baby easy prey."
A grin there. "Lilith an' th' lillim," Bernie murmurs, with a quick nod, sliding the key along the chain. "I mean, yours prolly isn't 'gainst -them-, 'zactly, but same idea..."
Sepdet raises a thin brow curiously. "I've heard the name Lilith," she says carefully, "and it has the tug of a powerful spirit. I don't know the second. What are these?"
"So, pretty much ev'ryone knows Adam an' Eve, right? Well," the cub starts, settling in comfortably against her arm on the table, "Eve wasn' th' first try. Th' whole rib thing, that was s'posta t' make her let Adam run shit, 'cause she was made from parta him. But th' -fist- try was Lilith, an' she was made from just th' same stuff as Adam, and God told 'em t' have fun. But Adam wan'ed t' be in charge, an'," the cub blushes slightly, "t' be on top, lit'rally an' figuratively, and Lilith said, screw you, Adam! an' left th' garden, an' wandered. So she went t' live by this big sea, where a lotta demons lived. An' Adam was all boo hoo, she left me, make her come back, an' God said, well, we'll see, an' sent these three angels t' talk t' her. And Lilith was havin' like 100 babies a day from th' demons there, an' th' angels said they'd take th' babies away unless she went back t' Adam. An' Lilith said, screw you, angels! AN' so th' babies got taken away, an' God made Eve for Adam. An' Lilith was pissed, so she decided t' take revenge on women havin' kids an' on babies, but 'f you hang an amulet with th' three angels' names or images on it, then she can't touch 'em 'cause she swore t' leave anyone who had onea those alone." The girl pauses, adding, "...there's a buncha stuff in there about her bein' where succubi come from, too. But that's diff'rent."
Bernie adds, realising she left off one important point, "...her half-demon babies were th' lilim, an' also succubi."
Sepdet frowns faintly. "But that story, then," she says slowly, "is told by the children of Eve, a woman who had some cause to envy another who refused to let Adam use her as he wished. I wonder if Lilith's children would have told it differently."
Bernie blows a little air upward; if she had bangs, they'd bounce in the breeze. "It all gets pretty complicated," she says, "...see, people cite it as a midrash, a rabbinical legend, kinda, but act'lly it originally seems t's how up in this one Sumerian work... an' there's a -bunch- of other Lilith or Lilitu or other names stories... at th' moment, lotsa people are recastin' th' story with her as th' heroine, for not lettin' Adam boss her around. So people're tellin' it diff'rently as it is... but, anyhow, th' version I was tellin' you, that's th' one people historic'ly b'lieved an' made th' amulets for, y'know? So it's th' relevant version."
Sepdet nods and smiles understanding. "The old tales mean something," she says forgivingly. "and we should not be quick to judge ourselves wiser than our forbearers. Only sometimes." She goes back to her sketching.
Bernie grins, and shrugs, finally releasing the key and letting it fall back against her chest as she sits up a bit. "I dunno 'bout wiser... I jus' figured it was th' same idea, y'know? Amulets t' pr'tect moms an' babies from malevolent spirits, yeah?" Suddenly, the obvious question comes to mind. "...so who's it for?"
Sepdet smiles. "She has been keeping quiet about it," the Garou says gently, "and as a Strider, I cannot speak another's secrets. A friend."
Bernie takes it perfectly well, nodding slightly. "'s cool, I don't b'lieve in spillin' other people's secrets either, so hey." She grins again, and pushes back from the table, standing. "Wish 'er luck though."
Sepdet smiles. "I most certainly will." Is there a trace of wistfulness in the mule's eyes?
Bernie stretches a bit, and picks up the sweater again. "'s gettin' late," she remarks, "...think I'm gonna check on Kaz, see 'f she's ready t' get this back t' Yi. Nice talkin' t' ya an' all, see ya round, yeah?"
Sepdet nods and holds up a hand. "Take care, Bernie. Keep an eye on Yi for me." She winks.
Bernie grins again. "Do my best," she replies, as she gives a light wave in return and wanders off.